Language of Jesus

It is generally agreed that Jesus and his disciples primarily spoke Aramaic, the common language of Judea in the first century AD, most likely a Galilean dialect distinguishable from that of Jerusalem. The towns of Nazareth and Capernaum in Galilee, where Jesus spent most of his time, were Aramaic-speaking communities.

Cultural and linguistic background

Aramaic was the common language of the Eastern Mediterranean during and after the Neo-Assyrian, Neo-Babylonian, and Achaemenid Empires (722–330 BC) and remained a common language of the region in the first century AD. In spite of the increasing importance of Greek, the use of Aramaic was also expanding, and it would eventually be dominant among Jews both in the Holy Land and elsewhere in the Middle East around 200 AD and would remain so until the Islamic conquests in the seventh century.

According to Dead Sea Scrolls archaeologist, Yigael Yadin, Aramaic was the language of Hebrews until Simon Bar Kokhba's revolt (132 AD to 135 AD). Yadin noticed the shift from Aramaic to Hebrew in the documents he studied, which had been written during the time of the Bar Kokhba revolt. In his book, "Bar Kokhba: The rediscovery of the legendary hero of the last Jewish Revolt Against Imperial Rome," Yigael Yadin notes, "It is interesting that the earlier documents are written in Aramaic while the later ones are in Hebrew. Possibly the change was made by a special decree of Bar Kokhba who wanted to restore Hebrew as the official language of the state".

Talitha Kumi School

Talitha Kumi Evangelical Lutheran School (Arabic: طاليثا قومي‎) is a German international school in Beit Jala, West Bank, Palestinian territories. The school, located in proximity to Bethlehem and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Jerusalem, serves Kindergarten, and primary school through senior high school level. Students may obtain the Tawjihi and/or the Deutsche Internationale Abiturprüfung (DIAP). The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land operates the school. The name "Talitha Kumi" originates from Aramaic words which mean "Get up, girl!" or "Little girl, I tell you to get up," a phrase stated by Jesus Christ when he resurrected Jairus's daughter. As of 2015 Rolf Lindemann is the principal of Talitha Kumi.

The Talitha Kumi Community College is a post-secondary community college for hotel management operated by Talitha Kumi.

History

Theodor Fliedner established a home for Arab girls in Jerusalem, then in the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, Ottoman Empire, in 1851. In 1858 there were 32 students, including Jews, Arabs, and Armenians. The school received the name "Talitha Kumi" in 1868, when it received a new building and had 89 students. The seminary and deaconess schools opened in 1905. World War I caused a temporary closure; there were 140 students and eleven deconess teachers in 1914, right as the closure occurred. Up until 1918 the British authorities held the women in Egypt. The school's area became a part of the British Mandate of Palestine. The school reopened in 1926, one year after the British authorities gave the school back to the original owners.